Organizational Setting

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) contributes to the achievement of the 2030 Agenda through the FAO Strategic Framework by supporting the transformation to MORE efficient, inclusive, resilient, and sustainable agrifood systems for better production, better nutrition, a better environment, and a better life, leaving no one behind.
FAO’s commitment to environmental sustainability is integral to our strategic objectives and operations.

The Office of Communications (OCC) is responsible for all corporate and internal communication activities of the Organization. It ensures coherence and consistency in FAO’s corporate messaging and communications’ outputs, as well as enables cost-effectiveness in use of communication-related resources across the Organization.

The post is located in the Internal Communications Branch (OCCC) of the Office of Communications (OCC) at FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy.

Main Purpose

The Office Assistant performs a large variety of routine administrative transactions and office support functions contributing to the smooth and efficient running of the work unit.

Supervision Received/Exercised

The Office Assistant reports to one or more professional staff and receives guidance from the Internal Communications Associate responsible for facilitating IC service delivery and meeting client requirements.

He/she acts independently in routine matters. Supervision received is focused on the quality of the work performed and provides for on-the-job learning.

Working Relationships

The Office Assistant usually interacts with a wide variety of colleagues within the work unit and with immediate clients within the Organization, providing routine administrative and office support services.

Key Functions/Results

•    Arrange appointments for the supervisor, receive visitors, screen and send e-mails and respond to routine requests for information.
•    Provide office, protocol, administrative and logistics support to meetings, committees, conferences, etc.
•    Review, record, distribute and process incoming mail and correspondence; follow-up on pending actions.
•    Respond or draft responses to standard/routine correspondence and other communications; use word processing package to produce a wide variety of large, complex documents and reports.
•    Proofread documents and format texts for accuracy, grammar, punctuation and style, as well as for adherence to established standards.
•    Initiate general administrative tasks in the computerized general administration, procurement, finance, travel, human resources system.
•    Prepare purchase orders, purchase requisitions and support the preparation of Letters of Agreement (LoA), obtain clarification and follow up, when necessary.
•    Make travel and hotel arrangements and prepare travel authorizations/claims for staff and affiliate workforce as required.
•    Provide assistance in the administrative processing of vacancy announcements and consultants’ contracts.
•    Research, compile and organize information and reference materials from various sources for reports; create spreadsheets and presentations; manage and update databases for mailing lists and other information; and maintain electronic and paper files.
•    Perform other duties as required.

Impact Of Work

The incumbent’s work impacts the timely and efficient delivery of office support services and on the overall output of the work unit.

CANDIDATES WILL BE ASSESSED AGAINST THE FOLLOWING

Minimum Requirements

Education: Secondary School Education.
Experience: Three years of relevant experience in office support work.
Languages: Working knowledge (proficiency – level C) of English.
IT Skills: Good knowledge of MS Office applications, Internet and office technology equipment.

Residency: General Service Staff are recruited locally. To be eligible for this position, candidates must be nationals of the country of the duty station or possess an existing visa/work permit and reside within commuting distance of the duty station at the time of the application. “Commuting distance” means the distance within which staff members can travel daily between their place of work and their residence.

Competencies

•    Results Focus
•    Teamwork
•    Communication
•    Building Effective Relationships
•    Knowledge Sharing and Continuous Improvement

Technical Skills

•    Good knowledge of internal communication and documentation standards.
•    Good knowledge of corporate computerized administration, procurement, finance, travel, human resources systems and administrative procedures and policies.
•    Experience in organizing large global all-staff events and related administrative tasks.
•    Experience in drafting, editing and publishing content for a global internal audience, including via broadcast email
such as FAO Latest.
•    Good knowledge of Typo3 and/or experience/aptitude for working with content management systems (CMS, e.g.
Sitefinity).
•    Customer-oriented with strong tact and diplomacy.

Desirable Qualifications And Skills

•    Good knowledge of the organizational structure.
•    Good knowledge of internal communication platforms.
•    Intermediate knowledge (intermediate proficiency – level B) of another official FAO language (Arabic, Chinese, French, Russian or Spanish).

Level of Education: Bachelor Degree

Work Hours: 8

Experience in Months: No requirements